Not Much Wind, Not a Problem

With a maximum of 18 knots during the first race, 12 in the second, eight in the third, and none in what was supposed to be the fourth and final race, the eighth annual Voiles de St. Barth was not the windy event that most participants expected. But it was still a blast — especially for the crew of one boat considered to be a supreme underdog.

Known as the ‘Champagne of Caribbean Regattas’ because the fleet isn’t artificially fattened with bareboats, this year’s Voiles attracted 65 entries from as far away as Malta. The boats ranged in size from three Melges 24s to the Farr 115 Sojana. The fleet was maxi-rich, with 15 highly competitive big boats crewed by pros. These included Rambler 88, one of the most technologically sophisticated boats in the world, the R/P 82 Highland Fling, a group of super-competitive maxi 72s, and three Volvo 65s.

West Coast boats and sailors put in a good showing at the Voiles. When it was all over, the maxi 72 Proteus, winner of her very competitive class, was also declared to be the overall winner for the second Voiles in a row. She’s run by Reggie Cole, whom many readers will remember as a West Coast sled sailor in the 1980s.

Taking honors in CSA 1 was San Francisco’s Kenneth Howery, who did the driving on his Solaris 50 Fortunata. "This is my first time winning any type of regatta," said Howery, "and I credit it toward our amazing team and Tommaso Chieffi, our tactician, who’s sailed in the Olympics and the America’s Cup." Howery later told Latitude that although he’s bringing Fortunata to San Francisco, someday he’ll be bring her back to St. Barth for another Voiles.

Also winning his class was Greg Slyngstad of the Bieker 53 catamaran Fujin. Greg and his crew managed a first and two seconds despite the light air, which this Seattle-based boat isn’t best suited for. Having done five of the eight Voiles, Slyngstad says he’ll be back — but hopefully July’s Los Angeles-to-Honolulu Transpac will come first. Hopefully, because he reports there is currently a three-week wait for recreational boats to get a Panama Canal transit slot.

While there was no official ‘Big Bang for the Buck’ prize in the Voiles, if there had been, Steve Schmidt’s Hotel California, Too would certainly qualify for it. She took second in CSA 1. Hotel is a 26-year-old Santa Cruz 70 built as a cruising boat. Thus she has a stubby mast and a giant back porch for an inflatable. Hotel was one of only three boats that didn’t have a downwind sail, and was the only boat in the regatta that didn’t use a downwind sail or a spinnaker pole when trying to go DDW in light air.

Two days before the start of the event, the Wanderer found about 20 crew for Schmidt, headed up by the greatly accomplished — and equally fun-loving — Annie Gardner of San Diego. She and her husband Eric, like much of Hotel‘s core crew, took a break from cruising their catamaran to do the regatta.

Thanks to pluck, luck — and mostly three boats in the seven-boat division fouling themselves out of contention — beer-boat Hotel finished second in class in the Champagne regatta. Nobody was more shocked by the finish than the crew, who were repeatedly assured in advance that while everyone would have a lot of fun, they would certainly not find themselves on the podium.

No matter if your boat is competitive or not, it’s almost impossible not to have fun at the Voiles, because St. Barth is such a great little island, the fleet is a perfect mid-size, and shoreside activities are so French. The Wanderer has only missed one of the eight Voiles, and doesn’t plan to miss another. If you love sailing in the tropics, and if you love fun, you might want to join him.